Race specific starting zones

Now I know this is probably something at first glance a lot of people who don't care for RP elements won't want.

But I feel like all races starting in the same zones could be a little problematic in some ways like...

-There will be a favorite starting zone more than likely created by streamers, this huge influx of what will probably be half the server starting in one area will increase performance issues. Dispersing everyone to race specific regions will help to spread this out some.

-Nodes take on the appearance of the races that dwell within them. As we know most people on mmorpgs like to play human unless some other race gives a major edge in pvp/pve racially but even still human will be a very popular pick if not the most popular still. I imagine human will for the most part make up most of the races in almost every zone without race specific starting zones. Lowering the potential we will see as much architecture and things of the like from other races (unless they make some areas within the racial zones that only that race is allowed to govern sort of a home field bias)

And a good thing it can bring for RP elements

-Uniqueness, your race feels more unique and special. Imagine in WoW if all the races just started in the same zone. It wouldn't have had the same feel to it, even if I was a night elf who spawned in Teldrasil, well... seeing dwarves and gnomes all over building a mini tinker town in the tree would kind of kill any potential immersion.

-Diversified Architecture. We won't be forced to see human settlements all over the map.

The only bad side to this I see is

-If you wanna play with your friends start to finish and play as different races this would not be an option.

Of course this is fixable by traveling to that zone/area, and it obviously won't be an easy task but we aren't playing ashes of creation to play an easy street game to begin with.

Thoughts/opinions?

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Azherae

Freedom to choose geography is more important than race specific starting zones to me.

Some stories can't be told if you can't easily have Elves that choose to live with Orcs.

As for the other parts, that's just a matter of players generally not being interesting.

Imanek

Unless there are any last-minute changes, this has already been discussed and confirmed during the livestreams. The plan is to have four starting zones in the world, likely two on each continent. Players will be able to choose where they start, making it easier to join friends or their guild without any hassle. That’s the current plan, but we'll see if it changes before release.

Aszkalon

I think " maybe " - > Race specific starting Zones might become an "optional thing" somewhere later after Release,

if Sir Steven and his Crew decide that Players can not only start at the Warp/Star(?)/lol/-Gates, like for Example in Aela in the Riverlands.

And : could be only available if the Player who wants to use this Option -> might have at least one Character on Maxlevel.

The Question is : how exactly would this now enhancing the Game Experience ? Because it is kinda the "Lore" that we come to Verra through the Warp-Gates, right ?

Of Course we could have it as Lore that the Character we create afterwards is "born" in Verra -> would make even more Sense then that we could only choose this Option after levelling our first Character up to LvL 50.

But i doubt right now that every single Biome might have Starting Zones from the likes of LvL 1 upwards.

daveywavey

Imanek wrote: »

Unless there are any last-minute changes, this has already been discussed and confirmed during the livestreams. The plan is to have four starting zones in the world, likely two on each continent. Players will be able to choose where they start, making it easier to join friends or their guild without any hassle. That’s the current plan, but we'll see if it changes before release.

Yeah, can you imagine having to play the same race that your friends are playing, just so that you can start in the same place as them to group up? That'd be pretty shit.

Dryadez

I feel like it was a very tasteful part of WoW But Idk I guess it's an out dated taste for immersion I have

Azherae

Dryadez wrote: »

I feel like it was a very tasteful part of WoW But Idk I guess it's an out dated taste for immersion I have

It's that it would be immersive in WoW because of what WoW is, storywise.

Whereas in Ashes it would possibly break my immersion, given the lore and background of the world.

Imanek

daveywavey wrote: »

Imanek wrote: »

Unless there are any last-minute changes, this has already been discussed and confirmed during the livestreams. The plan is to have four starting zones in the world, likely two on each continent. Players will be able to choose where they start, making it easier to join friends or their guild without any hassle. That’s the current plan, but we'll see if it changes before release.

Yeah, can you imagine having to play the same race that your friends are playing, just so that you can start in the same place as them to group up? That'd be pretty shit.

Ultimately, you have the option to start in the zone you like the most, or even explore other regions with rerolls that may not necessarily be of the same starting race as the chosen zone. Personally, I'm really happy they give us this freedom instead of forcing a system where race = starting zone. After that, no one is forcing you to go elsewhere; it's your choice, and that's perfectly fine.

Volgaris

I like the idea of racial starting zones, but they shouldn't be forced so friends can start together without having to travel if they pick different races. But in this game it really doesn't even matter. There's no reason for racial starting zones at all, lore wise and game play wise. The game doesn't lean into RP, there won't be any RP servers. Really what it'll need is different starting areas that allow the starting population to spread out in a health way. The starting area is just where you 'portal' in to, it's not like you're starting out in a fully formed city led by elves or dwarfs or man. But rather returning to the ruins of an old world that's isn't populated by any civilization. The players will be founding those civilization.

Azherae

I don't think we can say that the game doesn't lean into RP, we could say that the potential playerbase might not, but the world is intended to be crafted to allow for fairly robust RP, even moreso if they actually do the Story Arcs well.

Ashes may not be on the level of some other offerings in terms of true RP, but the intended future framework could also easily support an unofficial or even official RP server.

Dryadez

Volgaris wrote: »

I like the idea of racial starting zones, but they shouldn't be forced so friends can start together without having to travel if they pick different races. But in this game it really doesn't even matter. There's no reason for racial starting zones at all, lore wise and game play wise. The game doesn't lean into RP, there won't be any RP servers. Really what it'll need is different starting areas that allow the starting population to spread out in a health way. The starting area is just where you 'portal' in to, it's not like you're starting out in a fully formed city led by elves or dwarfs or man. But rather returning to the ruins of an old world that's isn't populated by any civilization. The players will be founding those civilization.

I think this and what others aid make sense. I guess if there was no racial conflict on the other end of the portals it makes sense they are not segregated.

However I do believe Tulnar will have their own starting zone for the fact they are segregated which makes sense rp wise.

But they won't have RP servers? That's a big blow to me... I'd love a designated server for Roleplayers to flock to, if not several of them.

Azherae

Dryadez wrote: »

Volgaris wrote: »

I like the idea of racial starting zones, but they shouldn't be forced so friends can start together without having to travel if they pick different races. But in this game it really doesn't even matter. There's no reason for racial starting zones at all, lore wise and game play wise. The game doesn't lean into RP, there won't be any RP servers. Really what it'll need is different starting areas that allow the starting population to spread out in a health way. The starting area is just where you 'portal' in to, it's not like you're starting out in a fully formed city led by elves or dwarfs or man. But rather returning to the ruins of an old world that's isn't populated by any civilization. The players will be founding those civilization.

I think this and what others aid make sense. I guess if there was no racial conflict on the other end of the portals it makes sense they are not segregated.

However I do believe Tulnar will have their own starting zone for the fact they are segregated which makes sense rp wise.

But they won't have RP servers? That's a big blow to me... I'd love a designated server for Roleplayers to flock to, if not several of them.

We'll see, a lot of things are in flux right now, but if we go by their general stated intentions, there is likely to be at least one unofficial RP server.

The real question is what power the 'RP-Ruiner' type will have to disrupt it. If you are referring to a server where there may be stricter rules or penalties for seriously disrupting RolePlaying for 'no real reason', we don't have any information or indication relative to that yet.

We know that Steven quite likes RP as a concept, but not really how much he'd be willing to 'enforce' it.

Dryadez

Azherae wrote: »

Dryadez wrote: »

Volgaris wrote: »

I like the idea of racial starting zones, but they shouldn't be forced so friends can start together without having to travel if they pick different races. But in this game it really doesn't even matter. There's no reason for racial starting zones at all, lore wise and game play wise. The game doesn't lean into RP, there won't be any RP servers. Really what it'll need is different starting areas that allow the starting population to spread out in a health way. The starting area is just where you 'portal' in to, it's not like you're starting out in a fully formed city led by elves or dwarfs or man. But rather returning to the ruins of an old world that's isn't populated by any civilization. The players will be founding those civilization.

I think this and what others aid make sense. I guess if there was no racial conflict on the other end of the portals it makes sense they are not segregated.

However I do believe Tulnar will have their own starting zone for the fact they are segregated which makes sense rp wise.

But they won't have RP servers? That's a big blow to me... I'd love a designated server for Roleplayers to flock to, if not several of them.

We'll see, a lot of things are in flux right now, but if we go by their general stated intentions, there is likely to be at least one unofficial RP server.

The real question is what power the 'RP-Ruiner' type will have to disrupt it. If you are referring to a server where there may be stricter rules or penalties for seriously disrupting RolePlaying for 'no real reason', we don't have any information or indication relative to that yet.

We know that Steven quite likes RP as a concept, but not really how much he'd be willing to 'enforce' it.

I imagine this game will have a lot of potential for RP griefing but also as a roleplayer I always play on RP servers because the availability of random encounters and the atmosphere always feels more like what I expect from the game. Griefing is only my second concern, the atmosphere is number 1 so hopefully they announce roleplay servers at some point

Azherae

Dryadez wrote: »

Azherae wrote: »

Dryadez wrote: »

Volgaris wrote: »

I like the idea of racial starting zones, but they shouldn't be forced so friends can start together without having to travel if they pick different races. But in this game it really doesn't even matter. There's no reason for racial starting zones at all, lore wise and game play wise. The game doesn't lean into RP, there won't be any RP servers. Really what it'll need is different starting areas that allow the starting population to spread out in a health way. The starting area is just where you 'portal' in to, it's not like you're starting out in a fully formed city led by elves or dwarfs or man. But rather returning to the ruins of an old world that's isn't populated by any civilization. The players will be founding those civilization.

I think this and what others aid make sense. I guess if there was no racial conflict on the other end of the portals it makes sense they are not segregated.

However I do believe Tulnar will have their own starting zone for the fact they are segregated which makes sense rp wise.

But they won't have RP servers? That's a big blow to me... I'd love a designated server for Roleplayers to flock to, if not several of them.

We'll see, a lot of things are in flux right now, but if we go by their general stated intentions, there is likely to be at least one unofficial RP server.

The real question is what power the 'RP-Ruiner' type will have to disrupt it. If you are referring to a server where there may be stricter rules or penalties for seriously disrupting RolePlaying for 'no real reason', we don't have any information or indication relative to that yet.

We know that Steven quite likes RP as a concept, but not really how much he'd be willing to 'enforce' it.

I imagine this game will have a lot of potential for RP griefing but also as a roleplayer I always play on RP servers because the availability of random encounters and the atmosphere always feels more like what I expect from the game. Griefing is only my second concern, the atmosphere is number 1 so hopefully they announce roleplay servers at some point

Well, just be a little 'pessimistic'. Remember that Ashes is a game with so many systems and intentional openings for 'drama' that it is absolutely trivial to legitimize actions that disrupt that atmosphere even if they don't turn into 'RP-Griefing'.

Then again, maybe I don't know what you personally mean by atmosphere in this case. I think of it as 'when a group decides to destroy your node, they at least offer some actual reason'. My 'point' here, I guess, is that I would expect that even on the RP server, they 'wouldn't have to'.

Vyllz

Dryadez wrote: »

Now I know this is probably something at first glance a lot of people who don't care for RP elements won't want.

But I feel like all races starting in the same zones could be a little problematic in some ways like...

-There will be a favorite starting zone more than likely created by streamers, this huge influx of what will probably be half the server starting in one area will increase performance issues. Dispersing everyone to race specific regions will help to spread this out some.

-Nodes take on the appearance of the races that dwell within them. As we know most people on mmorpgs like to play human unless some other race gives a major edge in pvp/pve racially but even still human will be a very popular pick if not the most popular still. I imagine human will for the most part make up most of the races in almost every zone without race specific starting zones. Lowering the potential we will see as much architecture and things of the like from other races (unless they make some areas within the racial zones that only that race is allowed to govern sort of a home field bias)

And a good thing it can bring for RP elements

-Uniqueness, your race feels more unique and special. Imagine in WoW if all the races just started in the same zone. It wouldn't have had the same feel to it, even if I was a night elf who spawned in Teldrasil, well... seeing dwarves and gnomes all over building a mini tinker town in the tree would kind of kill any potential immersion.

-Diversified Architecture. We won't be forced to see human settlements all over the map.

The only bad side to this I see is

-If you wanna play with your friends start to finish and play as different races this would not be an option.

Of course this is fixable by traveling to that zone/area, and it obviously won't be an easy task but we aren't playing ashes of creation to play an easy street game to begin with.

Thoughts/opinions?

I get what you're saying, Dryadez. Race specific starting zones would definitely help with immersion and diversity, especially for roleplayers.

In Ashes of Creation, everyone starts from one of the Divine Gateways. Each race has access to a specific gateway, so while we won’t have fully separate racial starting zones, your race still influences where you begin in the world.

The concern about streamers or big groups pushing everyone into one area is valid. But the node system is designed to balance that out. If too many people stay in one spot, other areas will progress faster due to less competition.

Also, even if most people play humans, the architecture and style of a node depend on the majority race of its citizens. So if dwarves develop it, it’ll look dwarven, not human.

One important point from experience with games like AA: starting in different areas is fun at first, but over time, those zones often become empty and leave new players isolated or vulnerable.

So yeah, while Ashes doesn’t have traditional racial starting zones, the system still gives the community the tools to build culturally distinct areas if we choose to make that happen.

bloodprophet

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Divine_gateways

Divine gateways are portals located in the ruined cities of the four ancient races of Verra where new players spawn into Ashes of Creation.[3][1][4][5]

Each divine gateway is in close proximity to two starting areas.[3][4]
Players can choose their starting gateway regardless of their choice of race.[6][7]
Tulnar characters have the same option of starting at any of the divine gateways as other races.[8][7][9]
The divine gateways were created by the Goddess of Creation in response to a warning from the Goddess of Fate that The Ancients and The Others would return from exile and seek retribution for their defeat at the hands of The Seven gods.[2][10]

Each race has its own starting area.[14][17]

Players may choose their starting gateway regardless of their choice of race.[6][7]

Dryadez

I wonder why Tulnar are able to start at any of the gateways... they weren't part of the exodus. They were still in Verra

bloodprophet

Dryadez wrote: »

I wonder why Tulnar are able to start at any of the gateways... they weren't part of the exodus. They were still in Verra

I suspect for game play reasons. It allows people to play with their friends.

Lore reasons I agree,

Dryadez

OOoofff that one doesn't sit right with me ill have to pretend that isn't happening

daveywavey

Dryadez wrote: »

OOoofff that one doesn't sit right with me ill have to pretend that isn't happening

Their scouts saw the gateways emerging, and some of them went to investigate.

There you go

You're welcome.

Phoenix77

One idea that I think would satisfy both parties is to have 5 starting zones locked by your race(human,orc,elf,dwarf,tulnar) and some extra neutral options. For example as an elf I have the option to start at elf starting area or at 1 of the other neutral options but I wouldn’t be able as an elf to start at orc starting area for example.

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